Program

Pre-Med: Curriculum and Advising Requirements

Additional Pages

Curriculum Recommendations

Medical schools seek students with broad backgrounds in the liberal arts, excellent work in a core of science courses and a strong concentration in one academic area. Most Hiram medical school applicants choose to major in biomedical humanities or one of our other science majors, though students of any major can be accepted.

No matter what the major, medical school applicants must take a specified minimum number of courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Most take the MCAT exam in the spring of their junior year.

Before that, students need to complete the following Hiram courses:

Psychology 101000

Sociology 155000

Introductory Biology I and II (BIO 15100 and 15200)*

Structure and Bonding (CHEM 12000)*

Introduction to Chemical Analysis (CHEM 12100)*

Introduction to Organic Chemistry (CHEM 22000)

Intermediate Organic Chemistry (CHEM 32000)

Fundamentals of Physics I and II (PHYS 21300 and PHYS 21400) or Principles of Physics I & II (PHYS 11300 and 11400)**

*The Health Science Board urges all serious candidates for medical school to complete at least one of the biology or chemistry courses above during their first year at Hiram.

**Mathematics 19800 and 19900 (Calculus I and II) are prerequisites for the calculus-based physics courses.

Advising

The Health Science Board assists future medical students in completing curricular and testing requirements during their time at Hiram. Students should meet with one of the pre-med advisors before the end of their freshman year to discuss and plan coursework for subsequent years.

Along with the courses listed above, some medical schools require additional courses in chemistry and biology. Hiram graduation requirements in composition and literature meet the English requirements of most medical schools. Some admissions committees may require courses in the humanities. Students should consult the catalogs of specific medical schools to determine which additional science and non-science courses are required for admission.

Why Direct-Admittance?

Physician demand is growing, but medical school remains highly competitive. Even with high MCAT scores and GPAs, only 45 percent of medical school applicants get accepted into a program each year.

As a Hiram student, your chances of getting accepted are better than most undergraduates. Our direct-admittance partners want Hiram students – so much that they’ve reserved program seats for them each year. When you choose direct-admittance, you won’t be competing against the nearly 50,000 medical school applicants each year, hoping your application will be noticed. With qualifying grades and MCAT scores, our direct-admittance partners are looking for you.

Nationally Respected

Hiram students have earned admission into nationally respected medical programs at The Ohio State University, Mayo Clinic, the University of Pennsylvania and more.

Thanks to our unique biomedical humanities curriculum, close advising and an abundance of hands-on opportunities, Hiram students fare extremely well against the competition, even if they don’t choose one of our direct-admittance pathways.

Since 2002, Hiram’s medical school acceptance rate for qualified applicants* is almost double the national average – 80 percent versus 45 percent. Even Hiram students who fall below the MCAT’s average scores for qualified applicants* tend to fare well – around 50 percent get accepted, compared to the national average of 22 percent. That’s because our faculty are willing to write recommendation letters for students who they feel will make good practitioners, even if their test scores are not as high. Most colleges and universities will only write letters for “qualified candidates” based on test scores and GPA, in order to boost their program’s acceptance rate.

*The Association of American Medical Colleges defines a qualified applicant as someone with a 27 on the old MCAT and a 3.4 GPA in the sciences.